On November 3^rd, I received an email from Omid, updating me on his latest ventures. He has been part of my life since he was in 5^th grade, and we even refer to him as my “surrogate son.” He and my daughter Jill both auditioned for and were chosen to be members of the Kansas Youth Choir, under the direction of Billie Hegge at the time.  Jill and Omid became good friends, and our families spent a lot of time together through middle school and high school. We also traveled across the nation together each summer when the Kansas Youth Choir toured to various music festivals and performance venues. We’ve had great fun and good times, and also shared big tears and deep sadness together. His college plans took him to Pepperdine in California, and his trips back to Hutchinson have been few and far between, but we have kept in touch and remained close.

This particular update included information about his recent involvement working with a filmmaker on a documentary titled “Happy.” Roko had picked up his camera and traveled the world for 3 years searching for the key(s) to lasting happiness. As Omid was telling Roko tales about his home life, since he was planning to spend the month of December here, he happened to mention the Salt Museum. Since Omid is a son of mine, of course I had dragged him underground on a previous trip to Kansas to share my world with him. And of course he fell in love with the place!

For me, it was a perfectly natural and normal request for Omid to ask if I would be interested in hosting a screening of “Happy” in the Salt Museum before Christmas. And although I needed to check with a few other people, if there was any way that I could do this for him, I would! Therefore, not only do we have the unique pleasure of inviting others to watch a movie 650 feet underground, that has not yet premiered at film festivals, but I also get to spend some time with my surrogate son! It doesn’t get much better than that!

Gayle Ferrell, Director of Operations